Dagong Europe has announced that its majority shareholder Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. Ltd. (Dagong Global) has completed an adjustment to the shareholding structure of the company.
Through the adjustment, Dagong Global has acquired the 40% shares previously owned by Mandarin Capital Partners (MCP), therefore becoming the sole shareholder of Dagong Europe Credit Rating Srl (Dagong Europe).
Jianzhong Guan, chairman of Dagong Global and of Dagong Europe commented “Dagong Global’s strategy in the European rating market is to build up a new bridge that pumps up mutual investment between China and Europe and to undertake rating responsibility to guard off credit risks by providing just and authoritative rating information for Chinese investors. We believe that we will reap great fruit from the unique blueprint that caters for the historical demands of Europe. We are grateful that MCP co-founded Dagong Europe with us, and I hope that we could continue our cooperation in the future to help Dagong Europe to thrive”. Lorenzo Stanca, deputy chairman at Dagong Europe and managing partner at MCP, commented «we believe that Dagong Europe has a significant potential to become a key player in the credit rating industry in Europe. The results obtained in the first year from the obtainment of the Licence from ESMA confirm such an expectation, in a sector that is bound to see important changes and reshuffles, following years of dominance of the three big U.S. players.
Ulrich Bierbaum, general manager of Dagong Europe added, “I’m confident that the new ownership structure will provide even stronger support for Dagong Europe’s future growth plans, as we can leverage fully the internationally renowned Dagong brand. We will keep promoting the Dagong brand under Chairman Guan’s guidance by providing top-notch quality services to European issuers and Chinese investors.”
Dagong Europe Credit Rating srl (Dagong Europe) was established in March 2012 with headquarters in Milan, Italy. In June 2013, Dagong Europe received authorization and registration by the European Securities Market Authority (‘ESMA’) under the Article 16 of the CRA regulation. Dagong Global Credit RatingCo., Ltd., headquartered in Beijing, is the sole owner of the company.
Dagong Europe provides credit opinions on financial institutions including insurance companies and non-financial corporates, producing autonomously Procedures, Criteria and models that are the foundations of the credit rating process.
Dagong, the biggest credit rating agency in China, has 600 employees, including over 300 analysts with master’s and doctor’s degree, and over 50 post-doctoral researchers. Over 30 branch offices in China provide credit information services for clients at home and abroad.